The Magikoopa's Apprentice
by AGP1990
Summary: A Mario-based version of the old legend of the Sorcerer's Apprentice, based on Der Zauberlehrling by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe and L'apprenti sorcier by Paul Dukas. Rated T for mild violence to non-human inanimate objects.


Once upon a time – I believe it was in ancient times in what is now the Mushroom Kingdom – there lived an elderly Magikoopa named Kamek and his apprentice, a red Koopa Troopa named Karl. When Karl was not being taught magic spells, he would fill the cauldron in Kamek's basement with water, often wondering why he couldn't perform these spells just because his master would. Very rarely would Kamek teach new spells, and very frequently Karl filled the cauldron. There was one spell, however, that Kamek hadn't taught Karl – how to bring life to an inanimate object.

One day, as Kamek finished practicing his magic, Karl heard him mutter a certain magic spell to himself – the one that he hadn't been taught. As Kamek went off for his lunch break, he set down his hat and left. Karl waited until his master was out of sight; then he grabbed Kamek's hat and put it on. In the corner of the basement lay a broom. Had it never been ridden by Kamek, such a broom would pass as ordinary; and because Kamek hadn't ridden it in such a long time, Karl found the perfect item on which to practice this spell.

He raised his hands, waved them back and forth and summoned the broom to come forth to the two buckets he used to fill the cauldron, giving it hands and feet. In the distance he heard what the modern ear would perceive to be a bassoon as Koopa Troopa and broom walked to the fountain where water was collected.

The broom's task as given by Karl was to collect water from the fountain in the two buckets and pour it into the cauldron. "Sounds simple enough," he thought, knowing full well that Kamek made him go through all this. So the broom did as told, and Karl watched for a while and left the rest to the broom. Down he sank in a chair, falling into a profound slumber.

In his dream Karl was the ruler of all that was known to man, Goomba, Toad and Koopa. "I am the Almighty Karl!" he proclaimed. "Strategist of the Stars!" And the stars moved across the sky. "Lord of the Land!" And the land gave way to form a giant cliff. "Sorcerer of the Sea!" And the waves rose higher to the cliff on which he stood. "Wizard of the Weather!" And the clouds unveiled bolt after bolt of lightning.

As he fell out of the chair, Karl woke up – and realized that, as his shell had been entirely immersed in water, something was wrong. The broom had filled the cauldron beyond its capacity, and the excess water caused the basement to flood. "Stop! I command you to cease your actions!" cried Karl, but it was no good, and the broom just ignored him. Near the door to the main level stood an axe, which he grabbed and used to chop the broom into no less than eight pieces until he guaranteed that the broom was as good as dead – or so he thought.

As Karl sat near the door, lamenting what he had just done, he could feel something happening near him. He opened the door and stared in horror. "Shazbot!" he cried. "Kamek never said this! Now the whole building will flood, and not just the basement!" He attempted to grab two buckets to empty the water; but that was no good. Soon he was fully immersed in water.

"I must find out how to break the spell! I must!" he cried. It just so happened that a large book, appropriately titled _10,000 Magic Spells and How to Break Them_ , was floating by Karl. He grabbed it and held onto it as if for his dear life. Suddenly all the water swirled into a large whirlpool as Karl read, "Bagels… Beaches… Bicycles… Blocks… Bony Beetles… Brass… Breakfast… Bricks… Aha! Brooms! 'Raise your hands above your head to end the broom's movement. Then move the broom where it was last put as…'"

But he didn't say the final word, "usual," because at that very moment, Kamek came back from lunch and did exactly what had just been read – and only because he knew how to break the spell. As the last of the water subsided, Kamek, having received his hat back from a nervous Karl, asked, with a very vorpal and uffish stare in Karl's face, "What were you doing while I was gone?"

Karl knew that lying would get him nowhere, so over a very slow and soft orchestra he said, "Just before you left I – I heard you say a magic spell that could bring life to inanimate objects; so I used it on your old broom, and I brought it to life, and I made it fill up the cauldron in the basement; but then it caused the house to flood, so I chopped it to pieces and it became more brooms and I was about to break the spell when you came back."

"Get back to work!" Kamek ordered. Karl grabbed the two buckets and moved away from Kamek very slowly…

…then he felt the smack of the broom and ran like the dickens back to the fountain.


End file.
